Torn and United
by LovelySheree
Summary: The war had ended, everything was peaceful. Though for Naruto Namikaze, everything seemed too peaceful and he couldn't help but wonder. After Madara and the fourth ninja war ended, everyone was back to their normal dad-to-day things. But how long will that last until a new era arrives. One of foxes and great clans. Can they get their humanity back? (NaruSaku) (ShikaIno)
1. Prologue

**.:Torn and United:. **

**This is something I wanted to give a shot. It's a demon fanfic- and before you all are thinking I'm obsessed with dark things- it not that. It's simply just me exploring this area of writing in fan fiction and I've always been curious about. First of all, I've read… I think only three like this and they were all written by ****wilkins75****. I completely respect this author and he's in my favorited authors list and I don't necessarily own this general idea. However, I ****_do _****own my own twist and other things about it. This is more of a wilder story, it doesn't have half demons and half humans (I find that hard to imagine without picturing some mutant which isn't what I want) it's about … well… you'll find out.**

**(I don't want you all to think I copied him because it's honestly going to be different.)**

**I don't know if I'll get many reviews on this only because it's just… a weird topic really. But whoever views this, I encourage you to review so that I can see what you think.**

**Sorry for the long rambling but it's needed!**

**_DISCLAIMER_****: I do not own Naruto… I don't plan on saying this in later chapters because it's obvious.**

**::Prologue::**

Naruto sat in his apartment. Oh it had been awhile since he'd left the village to go on an epic adventure or dangerous mission. He missed it too but ever since the fourth ninja war ended, there hadn't been much to do. He enjoyed it at first, and don't get him wrong, he enjoyed peace, but dang it! Everything was so much more… boring and… quiet. Everyone almost seemed absent. And, every time someone mentioned the 'peace' that had laid over the village like a blanket, he couldn't help but get a bad feeling about it. It seemed like the calm before the storm. The clear skies were too clear and the roads were too busy and everyone was too happy.

He wasn't depressed. No, Naruto was defiantly _not _depressed. He was always happy when everyone else was, not to mention he was basically a legend, not just to the village, but the _whole _ninja world. The whole _world _knew about Naruto Namikaze, the name his father wanted him to have, and he was loving the life he was living. But he couldn't help that feeling. That anxiety. The way the forest would growl a warning, the way the wind would flick and sway it's invisible thoughts, the way the ocean roared at night. Something seemed wrong.

But he mustn't worry about something that probably wouldn't happen. Yes, everything would be fine…

He knocked on his wooden desk as he stood up to go out and train. The clock had just reached 11:30 am and he needed to get out.

Somewhere else…

A carmel, golden vixen strode out of her clan territory. The sun that leaked through the trees caused her fur to glow an orange hue. She walked along a river bank as the coolness of the soft, wet dirt relaxed her tired paws. She had been running for awhile to try and not be caught, the mud along her legs showed hard evidence of running labor as well as some mud spots on her white belly. She swiftly walked up to the water's edge and took a lap of fresh cold water into her mouth. Her intense dark brown eyes reflected the rivers playful surface.

Rustling was heard behind her and she spun around.

"You shouldn't be out here you know…" a fox walked up to her. He had a white snout but other than that, he was completely covered in a dirty blond coat.

The vixen relaxed when she saw who it was, "Oh geez, Maverick. I actually thought you were someone important…" she breathed, smirking at his reaction.

He acted hurt but gave up when he knew she saw through it. "Listen, we both know that if I _were _to have been someone 'important' than you'd be in trouble so let's get back. It isn't safe for you to wonder so much, especially since they already have close eyes on you for talking in that meeting…" his hazel eyes showed his concern.

"Pfft, they won't do anything to me. That meeting was boring anyway, they should've just given the point across instead of expending it to a three hour meeting," she dipped herself in the water, her pupils dilated from the shock of the cold liquid.

The fox known as Maverick didn't seem convinced. "Roso, you and I both know that I'd like to adventure around too but once the plan is put into play, it'll be safe to wonder around again."

She strode out of the water, shaking herself off and purposely getting her companion wet as well. She just laughed and walked past him, "Whatever, once some humans are animals, we'll be able to make our nation, I know, I know…" she turned to look at him, "and by the way, that damp look suits you," she mocked as he shook himself free of the water she sprayed on him.

"Just shut up…" he ran up to catch up to her.

Sakura was finishing up a patient when Tsunade called her to her office, she wasn't expecting anything too so it could be good, or very bad. She prayed in the back or her head, theta hopefully, nothing wrong was happening or going to happen. Naruto had told her about his suspicions but she just thought them as that. Suspissions. Nothing more. Ever since he mentioned it, she couldn't get it out of her head though! Leave it to Naruto to get her completely screwed up.

She finally cam up to Tsunade's office and slowly opened the door. Her shaky yet steady voice broke the silence in the office, "Tsunade-sama? You called me?" she walked in to find Tsunade looking out the window that showed the village. The village she vowed to protect.

"Ah, Sakrua. I'm glad you came sooner than later," she took a deep breath and turned around in her chair, "Listen Sakura, I wanted to tell you that you did a great job in the hospital this month. I know since it's calm around here that there isn't much work, but you always amaze me." The old Hokage smiled.

Sakura's eyebrow raised, "I don't mean to be rude but Tsuande-sama… that can't be all that you were going to tell me."

Again, the blond in the the sighed, "Yes, you see, I'm getting too old for all of this. I'm tired of all this work, healing and ruling. I wanted you, Sakura my star pupil, to take charge of the Konoha hospital."

Sakura's eyes widened, "Are you telling me that you're going to be going out of retirement?"

Tsunade nodded, "Yes, but I'm going to have to continue this blasted Hokage job until a certain someone is old enough to take it."

Sakura smiled, "A 'certain someone' huh, Tsunade-sama? Well, to answer you, yes. I'll gladly take the position," she stood taller after saying this.

The Hokage couldn't be happier, "I'm glad that you are accepting, I wouldn't want anyone else to run it."

Sakura bowed and backed out of the office, "Thank you Tsunade-" however, she was interrupted by a big bear hug.

Tsunade couldn't help herself, Sakura was like a child to her as Naruto was a son. She usually didn't just show this type of affection to people. Not after what happened to her actual family… "I'm so proud of you, Sakura,"

The pink headed kunoichi smiled and relaxed in her masters arms, hugging her back. No other words were spoken.

Ino was pissed. She had been blamed for getting the mission reports in late! And it wasn't even her fault! Shikamaru had decided to take a _damn _nap with them in his pocket and how ever many times she knocked on his _damn _door, he _still _wouldn't open the door _damn it! _Much less wake up! Never would she be able to get in charge of another _damn _mission and that _damn _Nara screwed it all up! She _hated _DAMN lazy people.

_'Uhhg! How could he! I mean we've been on the same team since we were Genin! And the _one _time _I need _him he just doesn't even care! Damn him!' _she screamed in her mind. She walked angrily into the flower shop where her mother was sitting on a bench tending to some flowers. "To _HELL _with him!" Ino screamed as she ignored the bewilder stare her mother gave her and slammed the door into the make-shift office that was once a closet.

Her mother was going to chastise her for slamming the door, but decided not to.

Shikamaru sighed, he felt horrible. He had fallen asleep with the mission reports and even when he tried to explain to Tsunade that it was _his _fault, she still pinned Ino for being in charge of his laziness as well. He wasn't planning on taking a nap, only closing his eyes, and he was such a heavy sleeper he didn't even hear her knocking. Why were women this troublesome?

He sat up on the couch rubbing his forehead. Why should he care so much anyways? Caring was too much effort. Besides, Ino and him weren't _dating _let alone not even liking each other … right?

No, he didn't like her. He couldn't. Ino was like a sister to him, it'd be awkward if they ever dated. But why did he feel so bad about this?

Was it because she was so much like a sister? Was it because she felt like family? Why? Here was about the smartest Shinobi in the world, stuck on a simple question.

Troublesome woman.

He stood up and walked out of his apartment, walking towards a certain flower shop to go apologize to a certain someone. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets as if her were trying to somehow find an answer at the bottom, underneath all of the lint and fuzz of them. It didn't take long. Well, to him it could've been a little longer. He was a man, how could he be so scared to apologize to one girl! And the girl was basically family… why were things so hard…

Walking past Ino mother who was seemingly, peacefully, ordering around some flowers to make a bouquet of flowers. Nodding in her general direction to say 'hello', but she was too busy with the plants.

He knocked on her door, hearing a "come in," he entered.

Ino looked up to see Shikamaru walk into her work space, "I don't think I know why you'd be here," she glared at him.

Shikamaru drew a deep breath, "Listen Ino. I didn't mean to fall asleep-"

"Maybe if you weren't so lazy you could've saved _me _the trouble of take _your _fall!" she whipped her head around back to her empty desk. She didn't need papers in front of her to think.

"I know, but this guilt is _killing _me! I'm not saying that I'm only saying sorry because of it, but I need you to know that I am really sorry. I should've stayed alert," he confessed.

"Sorry doesn't cut it," she barked.

The lazy Nara sighed, "Then what? What can I do?" he asked, looking at the celling. He honestly just wanted to get this over with.

Ino stood up and jerked her head around towards him. She was so close to his face that he could feel her breath. Her glare dug deep into his soul. It was clear… she was extremely mad.

"How about you go back to Tsunade, explain to _her _how you're so sorry, and get my ass off her kill list and take the fall instead! It was _your _fault Shikamaru!" she yelled, her face was furious.

He just took it. He didn't know why either. He wanted to tell her that he _did _go to Tsunade and try to explain the miss-hap, he wanted to tell her that he _was_ trulysorry. He wanted to tell her. But he didn't. He just took it.

What happened next was all a blur to him. Her breath on his lips, and her face so close. He could smell the sweet perfume that he never seemed to notice until now. She was stunning, and right under nose.

He leaned down in one swift movement and captured her lips. It just happened, he just did it. Normally he would just sigh and walk away from her, but she seemed to glow just a little brighter today. It may have been her anger, all he knew was that it just happened, and it just felt right.

Ino was so mad she couldn't even keep track of what happened next. When her mind finally caught up to her, her eyes snapped open wide and nearly screamed. But she didn't. Instead, she leaned into his touch and actually kissed back! Why was Shikamaru even kissing her in the first place? The next thing she knew her arms were wrapped around his neck and his hands slowly lowered to her waist.

Roso and Maverick walked into the large hedge that surrounded their clan home. From the outside, it looked like a normal clearing that no one would care about, but once entered… it was a sight to be seen.

Rocks laid across the grassy meadow while other caverns and broken pieces of mountain formed what seemed like houses or dens. Thick mossy vines created drapes that gave each den a sense of privacy. Several foxes and vixens walked about the dirt paths that lead to different destinations as other pups ran about and played silly games.

"There you two are," a voice was heard behind them, "Come on, we have matters to discuss."

They turned to find an older looking fox with dark grey fur and coal black eyes. "Oh, right. Sorry about that, commander."

He just nodded towards a larger cavern that seemed more open than the rest. Roso sighed as they walked into what was known as the meeting cave. "Uhhg, how long will this meeting be?" she asked herself, however, the older fox in front of her heard.

"Don't worry, Roso. It will be much more… interesting than the others," they continued their walk to the cave.

Once they entered, they saw 4 other foxes, one of them being a vixen, that sat around a table structure. They all looked at who entered, "You're are late… Dasio," the eldest of the foxes glared at the dark grey coated fox.

"I was only getting these two. Simply briefing them about the meeting before they attended. I think it's be smart to have the clan leader's daughter being part of the meeting. Maverick here is also important in this process so unless you think otherwise…" he didn't continue as they took a seat.

The old fox grunted. He had dark ragged brown hair, signifying he had been in many battles and journeys. "Fair enough. Let's just get on with it,"

A gray blue vixen looked around the table when her eyes fell on the young golden fox that entered, "Nice of you to join us Roso," the vixen teased, her dark brown eyes held a care-free look. "But Hokaru's right. We mustn't waist anymore time. Konoha's villagers seem to be the type we are looking for and we have discussed this with all of the other clan leaders and we have all agreed on it. The leaf village will be with the foxes, set aside from a few. The sand village will be felines, the myst village will be wolves, and many of the missing ninjas belong to the great birds."

"Those damn birds! Why are they always taking the bad guys' side?" Maverick cursed under his breath only to get elbowed in the gut by Roso.

A tan fox agreed, "Yeah, Niomie is right, the Konoha village will suit the foxes fine."

"So, when will we attack?" Roso asked, looking at the clan leader.

The fox had a golden coat as well, though his eyes were bright yellow. "We aren't attacking, Roso. We are capturing only a few villagers and sharing our customs to them. Then in time our clans will grow to it's old size once again."

The young vixen rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that falls under the 'attacking' category,"

The clan leader ignored her. Pup or not, she shouldn't be talking to the clan leader as such, "Roso, watch you're tongue. We will be on the move tonight. When the sun sets, our forces will aline the leaf's border and we will capture seven villagers… I already have them picked out."

The blue-gray vixen looked up at her mate, the clan leader, "Have you now?"

"Yes, I have picked them out. They will suit our clan well, but before I say names, I'll just give you a description once we reach the leaf's boarder." he explained.

"Hai, Arcid-sama." All the foxes and vixen left.

"Fay," Arcid stopped his mate before she left, "I know you don't completely agree with this plan, but you know what being clan leader means…" he looked down, ashamed that he was 'attacking', to use the words of his daughter, a village that had done no harm.

The blue-gray vixen gave a loving smile and walked up to him, "I know. As long as you know it isn't okay, I'll always know you're a good fox. I may be unhappy with your choice in plans, but I love you none-the-less."

"And I you," he smiled, leaning over and rubbing his cheek to hers.

The sun was finally on it's journey downwards and descending fast to the ground. Naruto had trained and that was about it. It was a slow day for him, he just wanted to get to bed and close his eyes. Laying down on his soft bed sounded better than anything else. _Anything _else.

"Naruto!" a feminine voice came from behind.

Except that.

He turned around and smiled, though tired, his blue eyes still sparkled in the moonlit night. "Sakura-chan! What can I do for you?" he asked.

Sakura returned the smile and pointed to something that was now, patched, onto her jonin jacket. It was a tan medical Jonin vest, unlike the others that Naruto and everyone else wore that were green. The medical staff wore tan flack jackets. "Guess who got promoted!" she grinned.

Naruto looked to where she was pointing and his smile grew, "Granny actually let you be the _head _of the medical office? Wow, you must be real good Sakura-chan because that is _her domain, _well, it _was_ at least."

"Isn't it great! Now I can finally start affording my own place without have to re-think about everything I buy…" she lowered her hands from her shirt when there was a black shadow that raced across the ground.

Naruto looked to where it bolted, "What was that? Oh _great! _That darn old cat is always escaping from it's owner, one day I'm going to teach-"

Another shadow raced across which was followed by another, and another. "W-what's going on?" Sakura looked behind her, "Naruto, I think these things are surrounding us…"

At her words, two foxes jumped out, both had completely red fur and in a pouncing position. "Targets found," one fox spoke as all of the shadows, that were foxes, came out of their hiding place and crept towards them...

_To be continued..._

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**(A/N) This was longer than I expected... don't think that all of them will be this long. I'm not saying this is really long, but longer than I would've liked. Anyway, I needed it this length because I needed to give some background info... hence the "Prologue" title. :P Really though, as I said above, because this is a stranger topic, with animals and stuff, I may not get many reviews. I hope I do, but it's up to you...**

**I have more typed out so the second chapter should come out soon. It's not ordered right and it's messy, but that's all easy fixes. Also, to clear some things up, the foxes, and other animal clans, are planning to take humans in to restore the number in their races. This is a lot similar to "The Demon Plan" by wilkins75, as I said above. I'm NOT copying him, I'm merely using the BASIC idea of it. As you read there are some changes and throughout the story you'll find many more so please keep reading!**

**P.S. Naruto and Sakura will be the more main couple... I think. I don't know. But I plan on making them really big throughout the story so I'm sorry if you aren't satisfied with the unfluffy NaruSaku. Don't worry though, it'll get better!**

**Uhhg, more needed information! Thanks for those who have kept up this far in this authors note! The meaning of the names are actually needed, or well, cool to know. **

**ROSO:**** It has a longer definition and it's impossible, (not really but it's too hard and yeah...) to type out on here to I'm going to give you a general idea of it... Roso means, adventurous, seeks justice, will so what is needed to be heard, understanding, openminded, people may think that you are stubborn, but it's actually people like you who create a better society. That's what it means...**

**MAVERICK:**** This is an easier one... it just basically is an adventurous, brave, and outgoing name.**

**The others I made up... I just wanted you to know these names... again, sorry for the length of this authors note!**

**A penny for your thoughts?**

**-LovelySheree**


	2. Chapter 1

**Wow… I got more views and reviews on this than I was planning… Makes me feel all giddy ^_^! Most of my stories aren't too popular only because I don't take time on them. You all notice this with spelling mistakes, grammar errors, wrong names, bad names, etc… Though, I try my 'best' to get the point across. However, on this fanfic, I am planning to take much more time on it because I like to write about this topic! :D**

**To answer a few questions…**

**MK loves NaruSaku: I totally understand what you mean. I make my names on my own because many Japanese names just don't sound good. Sorry to disappoint you but that's my only reason. Though, Roso and Maverick may not be Japanese names, they are still actual names. Thanks for the review!**

**Shikainoisthebest: Yep, there will be more ShikaIno moments as well as NaruSaku. Thanks for the review!**

**(Special thanks to sumtyms for being the first reviewer!)**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Naruto shoved Sakura behind himself but realized that they were surrounded. "What the hell is going on!?" he yelled.

One fox chuckled, "Oh, you'll find out. Just try not to make this any harder," he spoke, widening his eyes.

Before Naruto could even try and attack, his vision blurred and fogged before everything went black.

Sakura tried to help Naruto but her vision too, went completely black.

A tan fox ran up to them, "We'll take them back to the clan, the rest of you better go get the other five targets," Maverick ordered. He may have been a young fox for leading, but he'd been put in charge of a squad for the invasion and he gladly excepted the job.

"Sir," they all said and raced off to find the others.

Maverick looked down at Naruto and Sakura's face, "So this is the Namikaze and Haruno… interesting, I'd think they'd be more… battle scarred for what they've been through. They seemed quite innocent when we knocked 'em out," he mused.

"Don't get too cocky, Maverick. You never know, we had surprise on our hands, I bet they could've beat us…" Roso shuffled Sakura onto her back, "Let's get going. The sooner we get out of here, the better. I don't like this place…"

Maverick nodded and lead the way back to their clan home, Naruto on his back, and Sakura on Roso's.

Tsunade was working on paper-work in her office when something broke through the window. She looked at what landed on her floor and frowned, "Those stupid vandalistic baboons just don't give up," she picked up the rock and was about to scold whatever kids threw it in her window when her vision went blurry and she passed out.

A gray fox popped out, "The Hokage has been captured, who else is left?" Dasio asked.

"Maverick and Roso were successful in capturing the Haruno girl and the Namikaze boy. We only have the Nara, the Yamanaka, the Hatake, and the old toad sage." The young messenger fox tagged along on this mission to test his skills. Many foxes did this, they started as a messenger, then they became a fighter, also known as a troop, then became a soldier, to commander, and so forth.

"You two, get the rest and meet back at camp. If you aren't there by sunrise we will check to see if it went smoothly," Dasio ordered.

Ino moaned and closed her eyes, her mind may have been screaming at her but her body was saying differently. Before it got out of hand however, she broke the kiss.

"W-what was th-at?" she stuttered out, unsure how to approach the situation. Her eyes were no longer fogged with killer instinct, instead, they held confusion and lust.

Shikamaru mustered up the courage to open his eyes and look at her. Not even he knew the answer to that, he honestly didn't know what came over him. One minute she was mad and he was confused, then he was interested and she was still mad, and then she's confused and he's confused! "I… I," he didn't even finish, he couldn't finish. He had no idea what to say!

Ino took a step back, her anger beginning to rise again, "You- you took advantage of me!" her brows furrowed again.

Oh no, not this. "No, Ino- I- I just- I mean- uhg! I don't know!" his hands lifted to his head as he leaned against the wall.

"You… you don't _know? _You mean to tell me that you _kissed_ me and you don't even _know why!?" _She took a step towards him again, both her fists were held tightly together.

"Ino it's just- I came over here to say _sorry! _I didn't even _plan _on this- I mean it just… sorta… happened," he confessed, not looking at her anymore. His mind was spinning a hundred miles an hour and he couldn't keep up with it. Again, he was left without an answer. If only he could just chase his rapid thinking spree and catch just a single reason, just one, and maybe this would just blow over… right?

Her angry eyes looked him over. The real question to her was way in the world did she _enjoy _it? She should be furious yet really she's just confused. How could this happen!? She calmed down slightly and fiddled with her thumbs, "Did you… you know… like it?" she timidly asked.

When Skihamaru heard this he almost wanted to laugh, she seemed so unsure of herself. Little did she know, he hadn't _actually _kissed a girl until just then. Surprises come everyday. "…Yeah," he replied, still keeping his gaze to the celling, it seemed much more interesting than just moments ago.

There was a loud crash from outside and both of the confused love-birds looked towards the closed door. Shikamaru was the first to step out of the small office but as soon as he did, he fell down and blacked out.

Ino, who had no idea what happened was about to rush over to see what was wrong when she too fell over. Some day…

Three foxes came out from the shadows, "The Nara and the Yamanaka. We only have two more to take until it's done," a fox shuffled his snout under Shikamaru's unconscious body and hauled him onto his back. "Get the sage and that Kakashi guys then meet back," it said, running off with the lazy shinobi.

Another fox picked up Ino and followed the other back to the camp. Everything has gone smoothly...

Kakashi was walking down the road, it had been another do-nothing day. Being late and say everywhere however, made him like the new schedule everyone had, nothing. No one really had anything going on and it left a lot of time for just hanging out or doing nothing but read. Oh, Jiraiya had better make another book soon, he'd already read his newest novel almost 56 times now. And he'd been savoring it! After the war, he claimed he was going to make a masterpiece and have a best seller, he said he'd travel the world for amazing research. However, sadly when he returned, he hadn't completed the book. Or so he said.

Kakashi took a deep breath and sighed, "Another day, another day older." he said depressingly.

A loud crash was heard just above him. He looked up to see the Hokage's office was wither being vandalized or under attack. Being a normal, non-lazy, ninja he was, he ran to the Hokage's assistance.

When he arrived, he slammed open the door, nothing. Only a rock and broken glass. _'Damn it! Where did she go? She better be off gambling or something, because this could be real bad,' _The gray haired Jonin thought.

He turned around to find a fox staring at him, "Hello Kakashi," he said.

His vision went black and he passed out.

Back in the fox clan…

Roso walked into the medical den where only a few foxes were being treated. They were the one clan that didn't like to battle, most of the others seemed to try and kill, attack, and rip out throats any chance they got. Well, all but the lion kingdom. They were much more strict and well behaved, though still more blood thirsty than the foxes.

"Maverick and I have two humans for you," Roso walked behind a curtain where she was met with a white vixen with brown tipped feet and snout.

"Oh, Roso, it's you. It's good that you got them here in such good condition, it makes my job a lot easier," she nodded and smiled as the golden fox set the pink haired human on the table structure that was in the middle of the room. Next to it was another table where Maverick set the blond shinobi down.

He looked up at the medical vixen, "So what are you going to do to them, Natse?"

The vixen, known as Natse looked at the young tan fox, "Nothing too horrible. I will simple have them eat the pill we created and hopefully the turn will be successful."

"You mean you haven't done this to other humans?" Roso asked, slightly surprised.

"Humans, no. But we have tried it on rabbits, squirrels, even turtles and lizards and it all worked the same. Same effects, same size, everything should be a go," she smiled.

"Uh, okay. I hope so because apparently these two ninjas are important or something, I don't know exactly what my dad said but they're powerful. I'd be careful if I were you," Roso suggested walking out of the room followed by Maverick.

She looked around a little bit before sitting under a tree and relaxing. Maverick followed out of sheer boredom, "Roso, do you think they'll actually accept what's going to happen to them?" the light brown fox asked, his white snout pointed to the ground followed by his gaze.

She laughed a little, "Well they better, I mean, hopefully. If they don't they'll one heck of a fight on their hands, physically and mentally."

In the medical den...

The medic fox circled Naruto and Sakura for a bit until she finally decided. She picked up some pills she had made earlier and slowly approached them.

Natse, putting the pill in their mouth, looked at them. "Welcome to fox-hood… humans,"

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**(A/N) And there you go! Another chapter. As I said previously, I don't plan on making the chapters too long. When they're too long, it makes it hard to have a good ending. So most of my chapters will be about this length. I thank you all for reviewing and being awesome! ) My apologies for any spelling mistakes. If I made any, could you simply tell me because I don't want to look stupid. **

**The next chapter will really begin to shape the story. So far all you have is ShikaIno moments, a extremely quick invasion, and of corse, Sakrua and Naruto about to turn into foxes. This has clearly explained some things, normally first chapters and prologues do, but hopefully in the next chapter we'll have some serious things that will help explain and hook you all to the story more! :)**

**Again though, I didn't have too much NaruSaku... it'll happen though... **

**Got Milk?**

**-LovelySheree**


	3. Chapter 2

**Thanks again guys! I'm getting good reviews! :) Nothing really needs to be said except thanks!**

**Oh! Except that I made a Naruto amv and it's pretty legit! Please watch it, the links in my profile! :)**

**To answer a few questions…**

**MK loves NaruSaku:**** I would say "yes" because that's what I'm planning, but plans may change. I would like to keep a few ninjas human, that we know as characters in Naruto, and have them strive and all but like I said, plans may change. Thanks for the review!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

A pair of blues eyes opened in a dimly lit cave. Naruto sat up and looked around, he didn't remember what happened… last thing he remembered was Sakura running to him telling him about her promotion.

Flashback (Not needed)

_He turned around and smiled, though tired, his blue eyes still sparkled in the moonlit night. "Sakura-chan! What can I do for you?" he asked._

_Sakura returned the smile and pointed to something that was now, patched, onto her jonin jacket. It was a tan medical Jonin vest, unlike the others that Naruto and everyone else wore that were green. The medical staff wore tan flack jackets. "Guess who got promoted!" she grinned._

_Naruto looked to where she was pointing and his smile grew, "Granny actually let you be the head of the medical office? Wow, you must be real good Sakura-chan because that is _her_ domain, well, it _was_ at least." _

_"Isn't it great! Now I can finally start affording my own place without have to re-think about everything I buy…" she lowered her hands from her shirt when there was a black shadow that raced across the ground._

End of Flashback

_'Sakura!' _he rapidly looked around the room trying to catch any sign of the pink headed kunoichi.

He was surrounded by rocks. He must have been in some sort of cave, and he was lying on a stone table with moss growing on the sides. A dimly lit torch brightened the room only enough to see, though he noticed he had no problem seeing in the dark. As if his vision had been enhanced. But, that isn't what got his attention. In the middle of the room where another stone table stood, was a female fox, a vixen, and she was pink.

_'What's going on?' _he thought to himself.

The vixen wasn't abnormally pink, but a pale pink. From afar she would look almost white, but if you looked closer, she had pink highlights that caused her coat to sparkle a pink hue. Her feet were black along with her front paws as well, her ears weren't completely black but tipped at the top. To be honest, Naruto thought she was a cute little vixen, curled up and sleeping like that. He almost wanted to run up to her and pet her.

As if on cue, she opened her eyes and whipped her head towards the blond, looking strait at him.

Sakura woke up in a haze, she wanted to look around but was too tired too, instead she just lazily opened her eyes and gazed around the room. There were mossy stone walls, sun was seeping through a vine hung entrance, and a torch was lit that flickered the shadows of the room around as if it were a reflection. Not remembering what happened before hand, she had no idea how she got here, much less why.

Lifting her head up she swung around, finding jumping and moving was much easier than she expected, and gazed at a seemingly curious blond fox. He had blue eyes and a black snout. His tail seemed to wag when she turned her head, even his ears perked up. He was a natural blond color, not yellow, and his black tipped front paws moved so that he could sit up. His front paws, she found strange, were not black, they were the same blond color, and his body didn't have a white underbelly like normal foxes. If this was a fox… she wasn't an expert on animals, but he defiantly looked like a fox.

Yes, she was sure of it.

Her green eyes narrowed slightly, "What's going on?" she asked. When the blond foxes eyes widened and he nearly fell from his seat, she knew something was up.

"You can _talk!?" _the fox almost yelled, recovering from the surprise.

"Wait, _you _can talk!?" Sakura's eyes widened.

"Of corse I can talk! I'm human!"

"No you're a fox!"

"No _you're _a fox!"

"I'm human baka!"

"No _I'm _human! Look at my hand-" when Naruto put up his paw however, he realized it wasn't a human hand. There, stretched out in front of him, was a black tipped fox paw. He looked at the rest of his body to see that he was clearly a blond fox, a tail hung behind him. "What… the… hell?"

Sakura humped in triumph, "See I'm not blind."

"Well neither am I, why not _you _look at yourself…?" Naruto was unsure of what her name was so he left it unsaid.

Sakura was going to ignore him but when she looked at herself, she found the same features that were on the blond fox across from her. "What the! How is this possible! I was in the leaf village only moments ago-"

"You're from the leaf?" Naruto asked, looking her up and down, "…Sakura!?" again, he almost fell over in shock.

Sakura slowly looked up, "…N-naruto? Okay, I think I'm going crazy…" she held her head as if to sooth away any crazed thoughts.

Steps were heard coming inside, both Sakura and Naruto were surprised that they could hear them from so far away, "I can assure you that you aren't going crazy," a golden fox said. He seemed confident and powerful, muscles were clearly seen in his legs and his posture gave him a leading look. "You are both inside our clan."

Naruto looked the fox up and down, "And who are you to say we aren't nuts?" he asked, honestly thinking it was just some dream.

"Because if you _were _to be going 'nuts' as you called it, I don't think you'd question yourself. I've found crazy people think they're perfectly sane," he laughed but still held his position.

Sakrua shook her head, "No, it's impossible… we can't just _turn _into foxes!" It seemed impossible! No, it _was _impossible! Wasn't it?

Naruto hopped off the stone table, finding that the golden coated fox was bigger than he was. "Prove it. Prove this isn't some dream, pooch," he pushed.

"I will prove it in time, or you may find yourself believing before that comes. For now, you are guests of the fox clan, until we find reason to completely trust you." The golden was was going to walk away but stopped, "And I wouldn't call me "pooch" if I were you, Namikaze, call me Arcid from now on. After all, I am the leader of this clan, you could get in trouble with that mouth of yours." With that said, he walked away.

Naruto glanced at Sakura, "He's joking right? This is all just sone genjutsu… right?"

Sakura seemed unsure of what to answer, "Yeah… genjutsu…"

Kakashi jolted awake, the memories of the previous night flooding his mind. He whipped his head around trying to find any sign of the Hokage or anyone for that matter. He only found himself in a completely empty room, no one was there. The walls were stone as was the ground, leaving him to conclude he was inside of a cave. He hopped off of the stone table he was lying on and ventured down the halls. Where ever he was, he didn't like it.

Naruto and Sakura heard movements from another room in the den they were in. Creeping towards the hall where other rooms connected where they waited until, whatever the noise was, showed itself.

When Kakashi turned the corner, he was tackled to the ground by some sort of fox. He didn't have time to react so he found himself lying on his back starring into two blue beady eyes. But in less than a second, they softened and looked at him curiously.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, looking at the man he just jumped.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow… "Do I know you?" he asked.

"It's me… Naruto. I didn't think you'd be in my dream," Naruto mused, getting off him and walking back towards Sakura who watched in amusement.

"What do you mean, 'dream'? And how do I know you're Naruto?" he asked, taking a step closer and in an attacking position.

Naruto thought for a moment, "Were you ambushed by psycho foxes before you woke up here?" he asked, Kakashi nodded, "Well, if this _is _a dream, than apparently foxes ambushed some of us and took us to their base," he said unfazed by how wacko the idea was.

"You're kidding…" Kakashi's face was unamused, "You mean to say that you are foxes now?"

"You are too," Naruto pointed to Kakashi's gray coated fox body.

Kakashi looked himself over and sighed, "Yep, I'm insane…"

"My dad says that crazy people think they aren't crazy so I think you're safe in that sense," a voice came from behind them. She had the same golden coat as the other fox who had talked to them earlier, well to Naruto and Sakura. Kakashi was a little behind. "The names Roso by the way."

Kakashi's eyes widened, his sharingan detected not a trace of a genjutsu or henge. It was all real… "So- so we all are… foxes?"

"And vixen. Vixen are female foxes… don't call a fox a vixen or the other way around. Highly offensive," Roso corrected, "Listen, I'm here to show you around. We're meeting with some others that we turned who will be at the clan meeting so I'll be telling you about traditions, schedules, etc."

Sakura stopped her, "Whoa, if you think we are just gonna accept the rules after you ambushed us and took us away from our home, you're mad!" she glared at her.

The vixen's eyes widened a bit, _'So they aren't completely turned… otherwise they'd agree with the decision. Maybe I should wait until they're fully turned,' _Roso thought but shrugged the thought off, "Of corse, but at least let me show you. A humble host makes the best parties," she smiled.

Sakura wanted to fight back, she wanted to lash out on this fo- vixen, but for some reason, she found herself agreeing. "Fine," she mumbled as Kakashi, Naruto, and herself walked out of the den and out into clan.

Shikamaru woke up in a dark room. There was light and he could see fine, but he could tell that it was dim and still dark. For a second he thought that he woke up in his bed and the thing that happened with himself and Ino was just a dream… if only. He had no idea what came over him! But there was time to think about that later, he had to figure out where he was.

He walked out of the small almost damp room he was in and noticed the ground used to be a lot taller… Taking a glance at himself he saw his answer… he was a fox. A dark brown fox. Unsure of why or how it happened, he kept the random piece of knowledge to himself and he kept walking to try and find someone. _'Why am I a fox? I mean, obviously something happened when we passed out but is this all some genjutsu? No… I wouldn't wake up in a genjutsu. And Genjutsus always feel a little off from reality, and this, this feels completely real. In fact if I had to decide, I'd want to stay in this form-' _he stopped himself from thinking that though. _'No, I have to get back.'_

He passed by a few empty rooms, some had other foxes in them, but he didn't care about those, he needed to find Ino. She was there when the attack happened, no way he was just gonna try and escape without _knowing _she wasn't there-or here.

When he had finally come to a larger room, where sun peeked through a doorway that was off centered to the left, he sighed. Where was he? Sitting down, he began to rack his brain for anything that would help.

"So they got to you, huh?" a voice was heard in the corner of the room.

Shikamaru whipped his head towards the sound and saw a blond fox. She had a pale coating, more of the color of an unpeeled banana, and her eyes were a solid turquoise. She looked familiar… very familiar. "What?" he asked.

The vixen stood up and walked to him, "They had me explain it to you. You see, I woke up maybe an hour ago… some foxes were around me and I freaked out but no one got hurt. We, as well as a few other leaf members, were turned into foxes, though I myself am a vixen."

"I'm confused, who are you?" he asked, looking her up and down.

She chuckled a bit, "It me, Shikamaru… I'm Ino."

* * *

**(A/N) My gosh! I've been ending on Shikamaru and Ino too much. Or, well, compared to Naruto and Sakura. I was planning on making them the main couple, still am, but then this happens. Oh well, hope you enjoyed!**

**This time, I'll spare you or reading a never ending authors note :P. I'm probably going to be updating extremely quickly the first week or so of this story, then I'll be updating more along the lines of… once a week maybe? Probably twice a week. Anyway, I'm just telling you guys this so you don't freak out about me not continuing when I will be. **

**Check out my videos! They are Naruto AMVs, link's in my profile.**

**Cat got your tongue?**

**-LovelySheree**


	4. Chapter 3

**So the last chapter was slower than I wanted. I don't think it was boring but I need to include other stuff… Anyway, that's why there's another chapter!**

**To answer some reviews…**

**MK loves NaruSaku:**** Um, I can't answer you completely without giving away the whole story. Basically, like I've said, this is going to be taking a slightly different path than "The Demon Plan" and more along the lines of "Animals Unleashed" type of thing. The biggest difference that you'll find and I'm just gonna say it, is that they aren't going to be fighting back against the foxes for reasons that will be shown later. In a way, this will be like "Warriors" but I haven't read much of the first book even. I've never gotten into them, but I know that this story will be similar to that. You'll see though, don't worry :) Thanks for the review!**

**Chapter 3**

In the leaf village, things were chaotic. People were beginning to think that the village hero, the two best medical ninjas in the world, the copy cat, the worlds greatest pervert, an amazing strategist, a professional mind walker, and the Hokage had disappeared off the face of the earth. Was there another explanation? Someone needed to step in charge before something or someone got out of control. There were a few options, Naruto, Jiraya, Kakashi - but they were gone... The village was in complete chaos.

"What are we going to do? Obviously the leaf won't fall but we need to have a plan here," Choji sighed, looking at Kiba.

Kiba nodded, "I agree, we need someone to take charge. Or maybe we could just have the council take the place of the Hokage. We can have it so that not just one person is in charge, but," Kiba began counting off people in his head, "However many people are in the council."

They continued their conversation as ANBU soldiers continued to scout the area for any clues of where the missing villagers had gone.

Roso walked along a dirt path that was lined with long green grass and a few rocks here and there. Small but pretty meadow flowers could be seen from a distance and the sound of a slowly running creek was heard causing everything to seem very peaceful.

Sakura was pondering as she walked. She couldn't explain why she wasn't trying to escape. She wasn't even _thinking _about escaping. She was completely fine with being a fox- errm, vixen. Half of her wanted to scream and run away, but slowly, that side of her was getting smaller and fox-hood was becoming more and more appealing.

Naruto watched as Sakura walked ahead of him. Even in vixen form she was still gorgeous to him. He enjoyed watching her tail sway back and forth as her hips seemed to taunt him. He could see her green eyes were confused but enjoying the scenery around them as they jotted from place to place. He looked behind him to see Kakashi lazily following, his eyes seemed absent from the situation, as if her were thinking of something far off of this earth. His one red sharingan eye gave his identity away, without it covered it made him look different. As if he were always on guard. Though, with that good of an eye, who wouldn't be?

Roso stopped in front and nodded her head towards a small den. "This is where the young kits are kept, they stay here until they're about 5 weeks old. After that, they begin their training,"

"They begin training at 5 weeks?" Naruto asked, stepping besides Sakura who was wondering the same thing.

"Well yes, you see, kits age much faster than human … umm, you call them babies correct?" Roso asked, she wasn't too fond of the Human culture.

Sakura nodded her head, "Yeah, they are."

"Okay, well at five weeks old, a kit has the same capacity of a 5 year old I'd assume. It is still very small, but foxes learn fast," she smiled and continued walking.

Kakashi looked up, "Wait, if the kits age faster, than do we age faster as well? Do foxes die faster than humans?" he asked, looking worried.

Roso shook her head, "No, we live just about the same in life spans. Depending on your family history foxes usually live longer than humans by about 5-10 years," she explained.

Next to the nursery den was another, slightly bigger, den. It smelled good too. Roso walked up to the cave and turned to the guests, "This is the hunt den. When our hunters come back with food we put it in here and eat as a community. In the past generations, the head pack family ate first, then the head fighters, the commandeers, troops, and the last ones who ate were the messengers and new comers." Roso's eyes grew soft when she said this, "My dad, when he rose to the leader chair, decided to change some things, like this. He wanted everyone to understand that we are a community not a kingdom. Many of the elders and other rule-strict foxes and vixen left because of the changes. This is why we wanted to get some replacements," she looked back at them. "My father's a good leader, but many wonder from the correct rules."

Naruto nodded, not because he understood her, but out of sheer respect for the fox. "Your father is Arcid?" Roso nodded, "Okay," Naruto followed as she began to move once more, _'Wow, for once in my life I'm actually considering calling a high authority by their correct name… pooch may not fit for the ol' fox.' _he thought.

"You said your father changed the rules, how is it that you say the ones who left, because of the changed rules, are the ones _not _following the rules?" Sakura asked, generally interested in the conversation.

The golden vixen nodded, "Ah yes, you see, the first ever fox clan was perfect. No one fought, everyone was happy, honestly it was heaven. However, a bird convinced some foxes to start their own clan so that they too could be "god" in a sense. When they betrayed the clan, foxes were separated forever and now we are striving to get on the right path again."

"So what, you have a thing against the birds now?" Naruto chuckled a little bit.

"Yes, we do," she replied bluntly.

"That still didn't completely answer my question, how are you changing the rules by keeping the right ones?" Sakura asked again.

Roso nodded, "Well, I'm not good with history. Never did pay attention in class, Maverick knows more about the details than I do but I can give you the basic knowledge. When our clan got together, we kept to the rules. We actually were a good clan, but the elders began to shift the rules ever so slightly and soon there was a whole new way of living, yet, in only benefited the ones who were 'worthy' of it. My father was lucky enough to be born in the head family of this clan with many brothers and sisters. In fact, he was the youngest, but many of his brothers were not fit for leading because they lacked knowledge and wisdom as the elders put it, and were banished. When my father rose to take lead, he tried to get them back but that's a whole-nother story. Anyway, basically he got rid of the elder's rules and they were mad so they left too. Our clan may be small now, but I believe that we are the only one who actually have it right."

Sakura understood better, "So basically your father threw out the old and put in the new?"

"In a sense, though technically speaking he threw out the new and put in the old." They continued their journey around the clan home until they reached what seemed like a large hedge. "And this, is the barrier that separates out clan from the wilderness. Only hunters and experienced fighters go out here,"

"Have you?" Kakashi asked, walking up besides them all.

"Of corse, I sneak out all the time. Of corse, my father only likes me getting out when I _have _to but I find the wilderness very calming and adventurous!" she laughed.

A voice was heard behind them, "Roso, you finished before me?" a tan fox asked.

"Well, you are the history freak. You probably explained everything _way _longer than I did," she teased.

Maverick just sighed, "You know, I'm not gonna even try arguing back," he looked at Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi, "I assume you know these two?" he asked them, stepping aside so that a light blond and a dark brown fox could be seen.

Sai stepped behind some trees where he removed his mask, "Yamato-sensei? Are you here?" he asked in a hush voice, looking around.

A figure appeared from the shadows, "Yeah, did you find anything out, Sai?" Yamato asked, looking at the ANBU member without his mask on.

Sai nodded his head, but he didn't seem happy about what he was about to say. "Hai, I did Yamato. But I'm not sure you'll be pleased with the answer,"

"Spit it out, Sai. We need to have a plan before everything goes crazy," he strictly gave orders.

"Of corse," Sai took a deep breath, "Yamato, they have been taken by foxes and successfully turned."

There wasn't an answer from the other ANBU leader for a while, "What? What did you say?"

"I believe you heard me, they were captured… by foxes," he repeated.

Yamato shook his head, "You've got to be mistaken, people can't turn into foxes…"

"Believe me, I thought this too, but Naruto, as well as the rest, were taken by a fox clan of some sorts and are becoming members of it." Sai looked at the ground when he finished.

"You mean they're just going to act like they never belonged to the leaf?" Yamato wanted to make sure he wasn't hearing wrong.

"I don't know," Sai shook his head, "They were captured but that's all I know. I can't gather further knowledge without endangering my cover,"

"Yes, I see. This is stay between you and me, no buts."

"Sir," he nodded and ran off.

Yamato leaned against the tree, "Naruto was right, peace never lasts long enough…"

Naruto starred in shock at who he saw, "Ino? Shikamaru?" he asked, looking them over, even in fox form, they all looked quite similar. They even _smelled _the same.

Shikamaru looked at him with curious eyes, "What? Naruto? Sakura? Kakashi-sensei too?"

When Sakura's name was said, Ino lifted her head and excitedly pounced over to her, "Sakura! You're here too! For a second, I thought I'd have to survive with just that lazy-ass," she nodded towards Shikamaru.

Sakura laughed at her friends enthusiasm, "Happy to see you too, Ino."

Kakashi stepped up looking at Roso, "If there here too, does that mean that you captured more than just us?"

"Only two others that you don't know of," Roso replied. "Sakura, Kakashi, Ino, Shikamaru and yourself were captured that night along with two others. I believe their names were…? Um, I'm not good with names-"

"Your Hokage, Tsunade, and the old toad-sage, Jiraiya." Maverick replied stepping next to Roso, "I'm sure you know them considering there positions," he said knowingly.

Little did he know, both Naruto and Sakura were the most surprised. Both of their senseis have come to? What were these foxes planning? Naruto though for a bit as to why he was captured. He bluntly came up with, he was a hero of the ninja world. As for Sakura, she was an amazing medic and book smart beyond belief. Shikamaru was just brilliant and could think up _any _strategy. Tsunade was a powerful kunoichi and an amazing medic as well, not to mention she was Hokage. Ino was a professional mind-walker, and Jiraya was the Toad-sage. It all clicked in Naruto's head.

"You want us to re-populate your fox clan so that you will have a more powerful and level-headed clan, worthy of being foxes." Shikamaru had beat him to it.

Maverick nodded, "Yeah… I'm not big on the idea, I mean, we're all the same age about right? What you guys are only 1 year or so older, and if I were in your position I'd be freaking out."

Roso nodded, "Yeah, agreed. I wouldn't want to be turned to a human,"

Ino looked at her, slightly offended, "And why's that?" she defended herself- or rather, her _old _self.

"Well- I mean, I guess if I were to have been human my whole life, I wouldn't want to be a fox. It's the other way around for you guys… I was just connecting with your experience," she said, hoping she didn't seem mean.

"That makes sense," Ino mused and relaxed.

Roso changed the subject, "Well, you are all going to be needing a den to live- I mean, stay in."

They exchanged glances and looked back to the golden vixen waiting for further explanation.

"Well, we have it all worked out. Naruto and Sakura, because you were on a team, will be in the same den, the same goes for Ino and Shikamaru," she looked towards Kakashi, "Though Kakashi, you are going to be staying in another den due to age differences. Unless part of a pack, older foxes and vixen live separately from the younger ones. Usually the age difference is 5 years before they are considered "too old"."

"So basically I get a den to myself?" Kakashi asked, somewhat liking the idea.

"Until further notice," Maverick intruded.

Kakashi nodded. He honestly had been thinking of a way to get back and help humanity. He needed to figure out what to do… thinking by himself may help that. "Of corse," he replied.

Arcid sat in his den going over some plans he had to organize. This invasion thing wasn't what he wanted but it was needed to revive his clan, and he wasn't a perfect man after all. He flipped through some pages and stopped at a single piece of paper, "The hunt is coming up," he realized looking at the date, "Only a week away. If the humans turn correctly it may be smart to have them join…" he thought out loud.

A vixen came running in, a piece of paper in her mouth. Walking up to him, she laid it down and gently bowed, "Arcid-sama, a message has been sent from the Atarashii clan, sir."

She backed out and walked away, Arcid thanked her before she left completely. _'A letter from the Atarashii clan? This must be something important, I didn't expect a letter from an enemy,' _he sighed opening the letter.

::Letter::

Dear, Arcid, leader of the Tadashii clan,

I have realized that I am out-matched. In strength and numbers. My clan is slowly beginning to fall and yours is rising higher by the hour, because of this, I am respectfully surrendering out war. No longer are the Atarashii and Tadashii clan enemies and rivals, and we hope you except our invitation of grace. I wish to become allies if seemed fit by yourself as well.

Until we meet again,

-Damaso, leader of the Atarashii clan

Arcid's eyes widened. It wasn't like them to give up so easily… _'What is up your sleeve, Damaso. It isn't like you to give up without a bigger fight. Whatever it is, I'll be the first to know… brother.'_

**And another chapter done. The next will be about mainly settling in but also the beginning of the hunt I hope. **

**Expect much fluff in later chapters! Sakura and Naruto living together as well as Ino and Shikamaru? It'll be fun to write!**

**Don't worry, be happy.**

**-LovelySheree**


	5. Chapter 4

**Thank you soooo much for the reviews! :D I'm not too big of an author on fan fiction… it's nice to get reviews even if it isn't that much… I mean, I get a decent amount. My highest it 43 reviews on The Return. Though I haven't finished it… like all my other stories… I'm almost done with Who Are We, but enough about my other stories and on to this one!**

**I don't have any reviews to answer, all of them were complement so all I have to say is, thank you!**

**Chapter 4**

Naruto walked into the den. They had been living in it for two almost a week now and had a good thing going. Sakura would sleep on one side, he would sleep on the other. In the corner of the den was another small room, this is where they slept. There were soft leaves and other animal felts they lied on to keep both warm and comfortable, and all they did was make two beds instead of one. It was an easy compromise that seemed to work well.

Unlike when they lived as people, there were not showers or bathrooms, dressers and shelves, or kitchens and furniture. All that was there was an empty cave. Many foxes decorated their own dens to suit their family, or pack. Though, considering Sakura and Naruto were not, in fact, in a pack, they had nothing to decorate with but two shelves that held their personal belongings like books and kunai. Besides, both of them had decided not to get too attached here. They didn't belong as foxes, but as humans.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, looking around to find no one here. Usually Sakura would be doing something, reading one of her books or practicing fox medical jutsu.

She wanted, fox or human, to heal anyone who needed it, it was one of the many things Naruto appreciated and liked about her but fox medical jutsu was much different and she was having to relearn many things.

Foxes had chakra, this surprised Naruto. He only thought of foxes as an innocent creature that would scurry away when seen. He never had any idea that they were capable of taking down ninja, multiple ninja at that. They had different styles of fighting however, instead of using hands and feet, fingers and thumbs, they used their tails, paws, and even eyes. Foxes were good with genjutsu, though Naruto lacked in that arena, he was finding out that being a fox helped him conquer what he couldn't as a ninja.

There were many perks he found as a fox. First one was he was always more alert, he could see and smell for miles if needed, perhaps he needed some training in this still, but it advances none the less. His eyes were keener, his muscles were bigger, and he was much more athletic. He had only trained for a couple days, they had only been here for 6 days, and he was slowly beginning to understand the fox culture.

_'I guess Sakura-chan isn't here,' _he thought, setting his harness pack down. This was another thing that was different. They didn't wear their weapons along their waist, instead, a harness was strapped to them that had their kunai, or other ninja-fox tools, at their side of their bodies. This way, they could easily move their neck and grab something with their mouth, launching it at their opponent. Naruto though, needed to work on his aim.

He walked out of his den after setting his things down, and walked around the clan. There were kits playing games, families talking, friends meeting, it seemed like a good day. Naruto couldn't explain it, but he was slowly excepting his fate as a fox. For all he knew, there was no way he could be a human again, and he was actually fine with it. Something happened after he woke up the next morning he was a fox because he felt normal. More so than before.

"Naruto," a voice was heard behind him. He turned to see the clan leader walking up to him, "Naruto I have a question about the hunt tomorrow."

"What's that?" Naruto asked, turning to face him.

"Well," Arcid started, "I was wondering if you would be open to joining it. If you go you can learn a lot about being a fox and about our customs, not to mention it's considered an honor to go."

Naruto raised his gave a curious look, "An honor? What for?" he asked.

Arcid turned to look towards the entrance of the clan, "Well, when foxes go out on a hunt, they are trusted, loyal, and brave. It's a dangerous would out there for a fox and being able to go on a hunt is like going on a… a S-ranked mission, I believe that's what it's called."

Naruto nodded understanding, "Would I be the only one to go? Would Sakura-chan, Ino, or Shikamaru go too?" he asked, not wanting to be alone on the trip.

"I was going to ask Sakura, Shikamaru, and Ino actually. I've gotten to you first though because you were right here so I asked," he replied.

"Then I'd be honored to go, pooch!" Naruto grinned.

Arcid sighed at the name, _'He'll never give up,' _he thought. "You will meet with everyone at the gate, Kakashi already agreed to go."

Naruto nodded and watched as the golden fox walked off, _'Kakashi agreed? What is he thinking about? It isn't like him to just do something like the hunt,' _Naruto rambled inside his head. "I'm going to see what the pervert is doing," he declared, walking to Kakashi's den.

Sakura moved across the grass, walking into a medium sized cave, "Tsunade-same-"

"Sakura, it's Tsunade now, I no longer lead the leaf," the old Hokage said, a depressed tone seemed to fill her voice. Sakura watched as the dark blond fox approach her, "What is it that you need?" she asked, looking at her student.

Sakura opened the fox-medical book and nudged it over to her with her snout, "Take a look at what I found in this," she nodded towards the end of the book.

Tsunade raised her eyebrow, she quickly read through the paragraph that was printed on the bottom of the page, "Is this what I think it is?" she asked.

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, this is what they used to transform us into foxes, if I figure out a way to reverse it then maybe we could turn back into… humans… again," Sakura looked at her master with a confused look, "Is something wrong?"

"Listen Sakura, this transformation agent did something with out minds. If we go back to humans, we'll only wish to be foxes again," she pointed out a specific line in the writing.

Sakura looked down, "I never said _I _wanted to be human again…"

"What?"

Sakura twitched at her master's tone, "If the leaf village is under attack again by the foxes- us- then we would be able to let them have a choice, and I'm _sure _they'd pick to be human not a fox."

Tsunade sighed, "I thought I was going crazy…" she started, Sakura looked up at her, "I'm liking being a fox, besides, let's me live another 10 years."

Sakura smiled, "Of corse," she looked behind her, "I'm going to go back to my den, Naruto should be getting back soon."

Tsunade nodded and smiled when she walked away.

Sakura walked into the den she shared with the blond knuckle-head fox. She brushed passed the vine hung entrance and looked around, "Naruto-" she wasn't able to finish her sentence as she heard scurrying paws run from the sleeping room.

"Sakura-chan! You're here! I thought something happened to you!" Naruto jumped towards her, their muzzles almost touching.

Sakura blushed but shoved past him, "Of corse I'm okay Naruto. Why would you think something happened to me?" she asked, ignoring her growing blush.

Naruto just shrugged, "Usually you're here reading. Is it a crime for me to worry about you Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked giving his grin a show.

Sakura's face grew redder, "B-baka…" she scolded him, why? Not even she knew.

Naruto shuffled in front of her, "Neh, Sakura-chan, why not we do something tonight?" he suggested, looking her in the eyes.

Sakura looked at him funny, "Naruto… what would make you ask that?" she asked, skeptical about the idea.

"Well, I mean, there the hunt tomorrow- oh! That reminds me! Pooch came over here wanting to know if you wanted to come on the hunt with some foxes tomorrow. Would you want to go?" he remembered.

Sakura shrugged, "I guess, why not-"

"Great! So since the hunt is tomorrow, why not we do something before we leave?" he asked, still smiling.

"Why would we want to do something before we go?" she asked, again, having a skeptical look.

It was Naruto's turn to shrug, "I don't know, it lasts about a week so, I just though we could do something before we'll be fighting down stuff and all. The hunt is considered an S-ranked mission basically you know," he explained.

Sakura sighed, "Sure why not, what are we going to do?"

Naruto's whole face brightened up, "Ah! I know! Follow me Sakura-chan!"

Naruto went bounding out of the cave, Sakura following after him, "Naruto! Wait up!"

She chased him until they reached the end of the clan camp where the hedge separated the outer border of the wilderness, "Let's go for an adventure Sakura-chan!"

Sakura shook her head, "Naruto-baka, we can't just go outside the border. We'd get in trouble," she protested.

Naruto chuckled, "And? Who cares! Let's just have some fun Sakura-chan!"

"You're eighteen and still looking for trouble," she chuckled.

"Well isn't that when most people turn rebellious? Come on Sakura-chan! You know you want to too," he pushed her, a mischievous grin growing on his face.

Sakura sighed, "Fine… let's just hurry before we look suspicious."

"Yes!" Naruto looked both ways and crawled under the hedge, followed by Sakura.

Shikamaru walked back and fourth waiting for Ino to get back, _'I have to tell her, we just can't keep avoiding each other until it blows over. It will _never _blow over!' _he thought to himself. Pacing back and forth for another three minutes thinking the same thing.

Ino walked into the den finding Shikamaru pacing back and fourth, looking the other way she tried not to get his attention.

"Ino," his voice called out, shaky and nervous.

"W-what is it?" she asked, still not looking at him.

"Ino, I- we, we can't just act like night never happened," he started, Ino flinched but didn't say anything. "Look, what I'm saying is… I don't regret it. Maybe the timing and all was a little off, but…" he left it unsaid.

Ino turned her head towards the confused brainiac. He relaxed when he saw her eyes, "So what… what are we supposed to do about it?"

"Something, _anything! _Just not avoiding each other," he offered taking a step towards her. "Ino, listen, I said it before, I don't regret that night. In fact, I loved that night," he didn't break his gaze from hers, "And if you regret it, then so be it, but know this, I don't think of you as my teammate. I think of you as Ino, someone much more important to me than a mere teammate."

Ino looked away, a blush forming, "I-I… I don't regret it, Shikamaru…" She looked back at him, an unreadable look on his face.

"I love you," he stated as if it were completely normal.

Her eyes widened but she didn't move, she held his gaze that she still couldn't read, and stared back. In one swift movement she got closer to him, looking him strait in the eyes, and brushed her cheek against his own.

Shikamaru closed his eyes, enjoying her touch. He leaned into her breathed in her sent.

"I love you too," she confessed, pulling back. Shikamaru almost made a whining sound when she did so, "I really do…"

He smiled and let her run her head under his chin followed by her the rest of her body, her tail ran down his cheek as she playfully teased him.

Naruto ran out from the bush, "Isn't rebelling fun, Sakura-chan?" he asked, smiling at her.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "I don't even know _why _agreed with you," she sighed.

Naruto chuckled at skipped over to her, "Because you secretly want to be rebellious with me, Sak-ura-chan!" he said in a sing song voice.

"You are _way _to cheerful right now…" she laughed.

Naruto looked at her, his face growing serious, "It's cause you're here… usually you have something to do or _something. _It's good to have you here with me Sakura-chan," he said, his face growing a grin at the end.

Again, Sakura blushed, luckily she had fur on her face now, otherwise she'd have to hide her face. She shrugged it off and pounced away from him, bumping her head against his side, "Tag!" she yelled, running off.

Naruto acted betrayed, "Sakura-chan! How dare you! I'll get you back!" he yelled, chasing after her.

It was almost night-time. The sun was setting as Naruto and Sakura laughed, their silhouettes looking like shadows. Sakura smiled as she watched Naruto explain how he had almost master fox tijutsu. Apparently he had major talent in it, or so he said. His eyes eyes were bright as he exaggerated his "skills".

"-Don't you agree, Sakura-chan?" he asked, looking at her.

Sakura smiled, "Sure, if you say so."

He chuckled, "See Sakura-chan? Wasn't this fun?" he asked playfully, looking at her. He liked watching her smile and be completely free. No drama, no worries, and no regrets. She seemed so beautiful when she was happy.

Sakura mustered up the courage to agree with her teammate, "Yeah… it was fun," she laughed looking back at him.

"You should laugh more," he said without thinking.

Again, Sakura thanked God for letting her have fur n her face, "W-what?" she asked, looking at him.

"Well, when you laugh, like _really _laugh, your eyes light up and you look really… stunning." he said, looking strait at her.

Her eyes widened and she looked away, "Y-you baka,"

"Call me baka, but I don't think it takes an idiot to notice if someone's pretty or not," he laughed.

Sakura stopped in her tracks, still looking at the ground, avoiding his questioning gaze. "Why?" she asked.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "What? What do you mean, 'why'?" he asked.

"I mean… why? Why are you always nice to me when I shove you aside?" she glanced up at him, he eyes still hod a playful sparkle.

"Why? Because you accept me. Well, you may not _think _you except me, but in your own way you do. You don't agree to whatever I say, you were one of the firsts to call me by my actual name, not demon. I always like to try and make you smile because when you do, you're face lights up and when your in a work-mode attitude you have this focus look and it makes you look professional but also still Sakura. I've always… liked… Sakura-chan?" he stopped noticing she was crying. "Sakura-chan? What's wrong?"

She didn't look at him, just sat there, looking at her pink fur covered paws. "You- you shouldn't- worry about- about me, Naruto…" she whispered.

"Why should you decide that?" he asked, looking at her and sitting in front of her.

She stood up, her gaze still to the ground, "I'll only burden you… I don't deserve someone like you…" she brushed past him slowly walking away.

"Sakura-chan! Wait! Where are you going?" he asked, catching up to her.

"Baka! Leave me be!" she lashed, her eyes puffy from tears.

Naruto was taken aback but still push onward, "No. Tell me what's wrong," he looked sternly at her.

"Naruto…" she warned, her voice growing colder.

"Sakura, I know I'm pushing it here, but please, tell me," he asked, still holding his gaze.

If she still had fists, they'd be in tight white balls or fury and he'd be a mile away. "Because! Because Naruto! I don't want to fall for you! I'd only let you down and - and- I- I don't want to be a burden! And don't tell me how I fell because I'm the one to decide that!" she glared before taking off disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

Naruto sat there, his silhouette disappearing from the dimming sky as it set to night and the moon shined brightly. _'Sakura-chan… if only you knew how strong and amazing you actually are…' _he thought, letting her run off.

**And another chapter. I decided to make this one more… coupley because the next couple will be about the hunt and more dramatic. Calm before the storm ;) I hope you enjoyed and I'll update soon I hope! **

**P.S. I need some pointers on the hunt, like something that should happen. I have a small idea but I still need some pointers so if you think of something, I'm all ears! :D**

**Lil' oven' and a lil' uggin'**

**-LovelySheree**


	6. Chapter 5

**Okay, so many of you are probably thinking why are they staying as foxes and why are they okay with it, first off they are and aren't at they same times… it's confusing to explain without a story, I've got a plan, it's just… well, in progress. To settle your curiosity, I'll say this; A hint when I said Naruto was going to talk to Kakashi, and how I said that the hunt will be dramatic a little is because you never know what's up Naruto's sleeve… you never know… except meeeee! Because I'm writing it! :P Anyway, I just wanted to get some easy chapters going before I settled the plan into action. :/ Hopefully I don't get barked at for that…**

**Some of you may think that the characters I introduced, Roso, Maverick, Niomie (Roso's mom) and Arcid weren't going to be too major… however, if you thought this, try rethinking it because they'll be playing some big rolls. P.S. I'm surprised you didn't pick up on my major give away line in the first chapter… I'll give you a hint, it was during the meeting that Roso and Maverick attended. **

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**To answer some questions…**

**kurifu gari: Great idea! It was similar to mine, but I'm changing it in multiple ways :P (Not going to say it because it'll ruin the chapter). Also, good question. I was planning on explaining that in small bits and then have… something happen. Again, it's always hard to answer questions without giving away the story. Anyway, thanks for asking, for the advice, and for the review!**

**Other questions/reviews were answered in the first paragraph. **

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**Chapter 5**

Kakashi sat in his den, quietly thinking to himself, _'There is a way to get to the leaf, Naruto and Sakura said they both fooled the fox-council into thinking they _wanted _to be foxes. Tsunade and Sakura were being watched when they talked to each other… it's the perfect cover. My only fear is if the reverse turn will work or not…' _his face showed only the slightest signs of nervousness. _'The hunt's this morning and if we get somewhere un-watched then we could make it to the leaf,' _he convinced himself. There wasn't in anyway that the plan should fail. Unless, something absolutely terrible happened.

But that wouldn't happen… it couldn't.

Kakashi wildly look around the room, failing at his attempt to find a source of wood to knock on. _'Oh well, it's not like _not _knocking on it would cause something unspeakable to happen,' _again, he curses at his thoughts and not being able to knock on wood.

Foot steps were heard from outside, he looked up and saw a fox entering his abode, "Kakashi-sensei, we're leaving in only a couple minutes," Naruto advised, nodding to his sensei. They couldn't speak about the plan, not at all, and if they did, it was more than likely someone would overhear them and interfere.

"Of corse, I'm all ready," the gray fox stood up, chi sharingan eye open and alert, "Are Sakura and Tsunade ready as well?" he asked, knowing they had what they really needed.

Naruto nodded and walked out the door where Jiraiya waited, "Finally, I thought you guys were testing out some of my novels," he got a perverted grin as Naruto whammed him with his back leg.

Sakura had just finished putting the supplies into her medical bag, remembering Shikamaru's plan he announced after the third night.

Flashback

_"Sakura, with Tsunade's and your skills, then I'm sure you can form some type of remedy for this correct?" he asked, looking at the pink vixen._

_She glanced at her master and then nodded when she had agreed. "Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard,"_

_Shikamaru glanced at Kakashi, "And you're going to have to cast a genjutsu to make all the foxes think that we're still there. If they notice we're gone, they'll assume the worst." His eyes traveled to the whiskered blond, "Naruto, when Kakashi casts the genjutsu, use some shadow clones as a backup in case the see through the trick."_

_Naruto nodded, "No problem,"_

_"That should be all we need for an escape. The only thing I need to say now is be alert," he smirked and Kakashi put down the sound barrier that kept their plan a secret._

End of flashback

Her eyes closed as she made a silent prayer that they'd all be safe. After strapping her bag to her harness, she walked out to meet everyone for the hunt. Hopefully, the plan would be successful.

Shikamaru and Ino had already been waiting for them at the gates. They all agreed that they should all show up in one group because it'd cause suspicion, they didn't want that now. Ino smiled when she saw her friend approach her, "Hey Sakura," she greeted, nodding to her friend.

Sakura smiled and stood next to her, glancing at Shikamaru and receiving a nod suggesting that everything was in order and should work.

Soon they had all gathered for the hunt, as a large group looked up to here the good luck speech.

Arcid rose and stood in front of the crowd. "Welcome foxes! I am honored to announce that you all will be going to the hunt this year…" as he spoke and continued two voices weren't listening.

Roso looked at Maverick with a worried glance, he looked at her funny, "What?" he asked.

Roso looked down, "Aren't you nervous?" she asked.

Maverick chuckled a bit, "Yeah, a little I guess. But I think this will really give us freedom."

Roso nodded, "Yeah… freedom…."

Niomie walked up to Arcid after he'd finished his speech, "You did a fine job," she comforted knowing he was nervous to make the speech. Every year he was, but not all of the years were like this. This year, it wasn't _just _a hunt.

Arcid thanked his mate, "Thanks… I just hope we're successful," he prayed.

"Don't worry… it's the best thing to do," she smiled.

Roso walked out of the clan border and entered the wilderness, Maverick at her side still. No mater how many times she went into the wilderness, this was always the most anxious moment during the whole year. Though she had only gone once before.

All of the foxes chosen walked out of the barrier and into the unknown to hunt for their clan. Arcid followed with his mate, it wasn't normal for the leader and his family to go on the hunt, but this year was different. He slowly walked behind them all, making sure no one was left behind.

The trees grew taller and the path grew thinner, all the while, all foxes and vixen were completely alert. Mice would scurry from place to place and crows could be heard wailing their cries of desperation. Shadows loomed across the ground from the moon that was now high in the sky, basking in the sun's settled light. There were no stars that littered the skies, instead clouds lay low to the ground causing a murky and haunted presence to be known as the group walked. Every few seconds, a bird would fly over head startling them all and causing their fur to rise in anticipation.

This was the hunt.

Many think the hunt is just a hunt. It's true, foxes do catch their food for themselves, their family, and most impotently the clan, but there is an even greater reason as to why they venture into the darkened forest.

There are missions that the clan would assign to a fox, but instead it is counted as too high for a single person. This mission is thrown into the hunt's agenda and when it takes place, the mission is launched. The reason it's called "the hunt" is because first, they hunt for food, and second, they hunt for the mission. THen there is always the finding of ones identity.

Normally this happens, when someones on the hunt they are faced with more brutal or intense situations and find themselves throughout the troubled week. Foxes come home proud and free and wiser than before, and S-ranked leaf village mission doesn't compare to this nearly as much.

Under usual circumstances the mission wasn't indeed as hard. What was the hard part was the forest and their enemies. The wilderness was their downfall, it was everyone's downfall. It was a dangerous place and it was common for wars or battles to come to a start here.

"Roso," a voice said behind her, she turned her head to see Maverick, "I thought I'd find you here…"

It was a quieter and peaceful place. She came here quite often to think… or just to zone out from the world. It was just a clearing with a small river but there was always something more… special about this river. She didn't know why, but she'd always liked it. Even before things happened… "Yeah, I'm here. Something wrong, Maverick?" she asked, turning her head to look at him.

Maverick just shook his head, "No, I was just sitting at camp," he admitted.

"Nothing's fun without me," she teased, shoving him in the shoulder when he sat next to her.

"Ha ha, sure that _must _be it," he smirked, however, his thoughts seemed elsewhere.

"What's the matter, Maverick? I can read you like a book…" the golden vixen raised her eyebrow.

Maverick sighed, "I don't know. I'm finding myself doubting my own words is all," he confessed, looking towards the sky.

She looked at the ground, "Well, it's a big deal. You know, what we're doing… it will change _everything. _No matter how much we convince ourselves otherwise, I think we just need to understand and prepare for the next step instead of being caught up in the moment." she looked up at her fox companion, "Being caught up in the moment and _in _the moment are two different things,"

The tan fox laughed, "You surprise me when you talk deep like that," he glanced at her, her face had turned back towards the still moon lit sky, her silhouette, even though she was close to him, still stood out. She was only inches away and yet the moon was so bright that it made her look like a shadow. Her dark brown eyes seemed to gain life when they sparkled with appreciation or pride. He smiled at her and looked away, deciding to change the thoughts in his head, "So, I've been wondering, what are we gonna do once this is over?" he asked, looking at her once again.

She shrugged, "I don't really know. I just want to go back… back to the way things were," she looked at him, giving a soft smile.

He scoffed, "How can you be so confident?"

"I don't know really, things will happen the way they do." Her glance still held his attention as she straitened up.

Maverick chuckled, "You sound like a total hippie,"

"Hey wait! Aren't those the weird people who try and "communicate" with the wild?" she asked, her tone drenched in warnings to say otherwise.

"Yep,"

She humphed, "Whatever,"

A pair of red eyes watched the group of foxes and vixen move about in the night. A lone black feather fell to the ground landing by many fallen leaves. "I'll get what I want. I'll get my revenge," it whispered to itself. "I'll destroy whatever family you have… Naruto,"

A bird flew onto the tree the eyes peered from, "Sir, we are ready at your orders," the scout informed.

"Very well, attack in three minutes."

"Why the wait, sir?" the scout removed his hand from his forehead to look at the figure better.

The man smirked in a cold and heartless way. "I want to pay an old friend a visit," he seethed.

"Sir, yes, sir! I'll get the orders immediately… Commander Sasuke,"

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**Hahahahaa! You guys thought I'd be keeping them as foxes for an eternity? Pfft, I've got a HUGE plan for this story and you're the victims of it! Mwahahaaa! *Cough* Ahem, anyway… Some things were unclear. That was purposeful. I'm not letting the big secret out, of you can't guess it, until later. Like I said, I had a MAJOR give away in chapter one or two. So re-read them to try and find it if you want.**

**Other than that, this is all that needed to be covered. I appreciate all the reviews and thanks for reading this story! I hope I'm not letting you guys down by taking it slow but I want to savor this. :) Until the next chapters fellows.**

**Thinkin' of me?**

**-LovelySheree**


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